BJP files complaint with poll panel against Lalu Prasad

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday complained to the Election Commission against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad’s “abusive” remarks about its prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani and demanded urgent and strict action against him. “I enclose a copy of a CD of a telecast from a TV channel which focusses on the unabated flow of unparliamentary gutter language mouthed by Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD) in his various election speeches in Bihar. The model code of conduct eschews use of derogatory personal references by candidates or party campaigners,” BJP leader R. Ramakrishna wrote in a letter sent to the poll panel.

“In fact, the architects of the model code of conduct could themselves not have envisaged the political scene being occupied by characters like Lalu Yadav who customarily breach all norms of decency,” he said.

The BJP had Saturday said that it would complain to the Election Commission over Lalu Prasad’s unparliamentary language at a rally in Bihar Friday.

In the letter, Ramakrishna said Lalu Prasad had called the party’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani a “Pakistani” and even questioned him being a Hindu. The RJD chief had also called Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi “brothers in law”.

“In the CD, the highly abusive terminology in fact used by Lalu Yadav has been filtered by the TV channels as derogatory language not fit for human consumption,” he said, adding it could be well imagined what impact it would have had and could have led to tension and outbreak of a law and order situation and consequent disturbance of internal security.

“In fact it is this type of irresponsibility that requires the invoking of NSA (National Security Act),” the letter said.

The BJP said that they hoped that the poll panel would deal with the action with all seriousness and take the most urgent and stringent action against Lalu Prasad.

The party called for the RJD chief to be restrained from electioneering till the poll process is over, noting such a response from the poll panel will establish its credibility to enforce on ground what they had appealed for of all political parties in their April 12 circular, expressing concern “over the toxicity seeping into the electoral campaign.”